


hours turn into days

by ratherbefree



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 18:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7981795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratherbefree/pseuds/ratherbefree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of unrelated ficlets prompted on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Drunk me is like regular me, except with more grammar errors and a deeper meaning to everything."

**Author's Note:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale
> 
> “Drunk me is like regular me, except with more grammar errors and a deeper meaning to everything.”

It’s the hazy, slurred part of the evening when the main event (in this case, a celebration of the collective pass in Biology) is well over and done with, but everyone is too tipsy, exhausted, full, or a combination of all three to consider returning home for an hour or so.

At some point during the night someone suggested a movie marathon, which of course spiralled into a Kickpuncher marathon, and after having sat through the entirety of the first one, Jeff can honestly say he’d rather gouge his eyes out with the communal ice cream scoop everyone seems to be okay with using, than have to suffer through the rest of the four-part franchise.

He’s sitting at the kitchen bar, phone in hand, trying to remember when Shirley left and why (was it due to the alcohol? The violent movie? Both?) when he’s suddenly attacked by something deep and flowery.

This usually means that Annie’s nearby, and sure enough, she pops up from behind the counter a moment later.

“What are you doing?”

She sort of startles a little, which is just ridiculous because he’s been in front of her the whole time and she definitely had to walk past him to get where she is now.

“I was looking for our step stool.” She replies, once she’s recovered. “There’s wine in the top cupboard, but I can’t reach.”

He sort of has to laugh at that because she’s just _so tiny_ , of course she’d need a stool to reach the top shelf.

She lets out a little huff of indignation and straightens up to her full height.

“Do you want help?”

“Not if you’re going to laugh at me.”

This almost makes him laugh again, but- “I won’t, promise.”

Annie rolls her eyes and nods her head, so Jeff takes this as permission to move past her. It’s only when he’s retrieved the bottle and is handing it to her that he notices the sway in her gait, the slightly spaced-out look in her eyes, the tell-tale flush to her cheeks.

“Are you drunk?” He doesn’t really mean for it to come out as accusatory as it does - he was going for _‘concerned friend’_ rather than _‘overbearing parent’_ , but it is a shock to the system nonetheless. Sometimes he forgets she’s not eighteen anymore.

“Not drunk. I’ve barely had anything.” Her tone suggests she isn’t mad at him, which he’s grateful for, until he hears the next bit. “So what if I am, anyway?”

“Nothing.” He deflects, wishing he hadn’t said anything at all, but Annie’s put the bottle down on the counter, resting against the edge like she expects this conversation to last longer than just a few passing seconds.

“I can drink if I want.”

“Believe me, I know.”

There’s still a certain guardedness in her stare, and it’s sort of intimidating when she looks him straight in the eye, unwavering. Jeff can practically see the thoughts whirring around in her head, and he wants desperately to know what it is that she’s thinking about; why she seems so defensive over nothing.

But in the end it doesn’t amount to much.

She gives a little sigh when she breaks her gaze, mutters something about not wanting to miss the movie, and perches on the edge of the sofa delicately. The wine is still forgotten on the counter, but after a minute Annie seems too engrossed - forcibly or not - in the action that he figures it’s pointless to bring it up again.

He leaves a half hour later, calling out an excuse to the apartment as a whole, and doesn’t miss the way she sort of avoids looking directly at him.

\------------------------

He’s awoken in the morning by the text alert on his phone. 

 

 

> _ANNIE to JEFF, 7:32_
> 
>   _sorry about last night i guess??_

 

 

 

 

> _JEFF to ANNIE, 7:36_
> 
> _it’s okay_

 

 

 

 

> _ANNIE to JEFF, 7:41_
> 
> _i guess i was kind of reading into things_
> 
> _as you saw last night, drunk me is like regular me, except with more grammar errors and a deeper meaning to everything_

 

 

 

 

> _JEFF to ANNIE, 7:50_
> 
> _in all fairness to you, i don’t think i noticed a single grammar mistake until just now._

 

 

 

 

> _ANNIE to JEFF, 7:51_
> 
> __ _:P_

 


	2. "Remember what you said to me?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale
> 
> "Remember what you said to me?"

The Lifetime movie they started watching ages ago has now finished, credits crawling down the screen. Annie’s lying half on top of him, and she hasn’t moved in a while, so Jeff had assumed she fell asleep shortly after the movie began. 

But he’s proven wrong when he feels her start to trace patterns on his chest through his shirt, slow and deliberate in a way that makes him think she’s building up to something. 

And she is. “I was just remembering, back in second year.” She starts, like she’s trying hard to make it seem as though she’s not been thinking about this for a while. “Do you remember what you said to me?” 

He tightens his arms around her, pushing closer so they’re properly pressed chest-to-chest, and when she sighs, he can feel her breath tickle his neck. “Gotta be a little more specific, there. I said a lot of things that year.” 

She makes an attempt to swat at his arm, but it ends up like more of a pat. “When we voted to let Rich into the group.” 

“Oh.” He instantly gets where she’s heading, but doesn’t suppose this line of conversation can lead anywhere good. “I guess.” 

Annie must know he’s deflecting, because she helps him along. “You said that we couldn’t date because  _ ‘relationships are complicated’.” _

“...And we’re in the mens’ room.”

“Yes.” She rests her chin on his chest, looking straight into his eyes, and he feels his heartbeat slow. It’s a long time until she speaks again, as if she’s deliberately drawing it out, trying to make him nervous. 

Until- “Do you still think that?” 

“What?”

“Do you still think that relationships are complicated?”

It takes him a moment because in a way, yes, he stands by what he said all those years ago - now more than ever, he has the experience to understand that relationships are difficult; they take a lot of work. But in the other sense of the phrase, he couldn’t disagree more. In the grand scheme of things, this thing with Annie is so astonishingly  _ easy,  _ in a way he could never have predicted before.

“Maybe…” He hedges. At her raised eyebrow, he adds quickly: “But it’s worth it.” 

This earns him a smile. “Worth it.” 


	3. “I know you can’t understand it now. But you will. Someday you will.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale 
> 
> “I know you can’t understand it now. But you will. Someday you will.”

At three years old Sebastian is in a phase of questioning pretty much everything he’s told. No matter what they’re talking about, the kid is likely to throw in a couple  _ “why?” _ ’s after every sentence. 

Naturally, this makes explaining Annie’s business trip even more difficult. When Bas was younger, they could get away with a simple,  _ “goodbye, love you, be home before you know it!”,  _ but now it’s a difficulty even to announce the trip, let alone actually leave. 

“But why?” He interrupts Annie’s explanation while she’s in mid-sentence, tugging at her trousers. 

“I already told you, sweetie.” She replies, slow and patient. “I have to go for a big meeting, to talk to important people.” 

“But why?” 

“So we can discuss an event in work.”

“Why?” 

“I know you can’t understand it now, but you will. Someday you will.”

“But w-” 

“Okay,” Jeff cuts in, getting annoyed with the ‘conversation’ despite himself. “Bas, mom told you all of this already. And she’s not leaving until next week, so there’s no need to worry.” 

“Why are you worrying?” 

“I’m not.” 

“Why?” 

“Because-” He stops, knowing that saying anything else will just set the kid off again. Time to switch to a different tactic. “Hey, wanna watch TV?” 

“Yeah!” 

Annie later says that they shouldn’t just distract him with TV, that it’s actually good he’s asking all these questions, but in the moment all Jeff cares about is the half-hour of  _ peace  _ it gives him.

  



	4. "I think we need to talk."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale

It’s nearly 1am when he swings the door open, tensed in preparation for potential trouble, but it’s an entirely different blow that he receives.

“Don’t say anything until I’ve said what I’ve got to say.” 

Her face is flushed like she’s been running and there’s a manic look in her eyes and his instinct is to tell her to blow down, maybe ask what exactly is so important that she made her way across town to his apartment at such a late hour, she seems focused - like the split second before she puts pen to paper during an exam - so he just nods dumbly and steps back a little. 

“I think we need to talk. And i know - I know that sounds scary, but I just. I haven’t seen you since yesterday in the study room and I’ve been turning some things over in my head, so - you said what you said-“

The slight trip in her words lets him know she’s more than likely memorised his entire speech by now.

“-and there was a lot more - stuff - I wanted to tell you but there just wasn’t enough time, and then the group, and then it was late, so we left. And I thought - or hoped, I guess - that you might call me or something today but you didn’t and i think I get why, now, and I just wanted to tell you that I get it. It’s my turn.” 

“What are you doing.?” 

She looks up sharply. Hard, and he knows it’s still not time for him to speak. 

“I want stability and you want something different but that doesn’t mean we’re opposites, or, or we’re not compatible, or whatever it you think. We might want different things at the moment, and that might be - will probably be, really - an obstacle at some point, but I don’t. I don’t care!”

Annie meets his eyes again, finally, and her tone turns softer. 

“I want you. The rest is just excessive.””Do I get a say in all this?” And she matches his smile, and he invites her in.


	5. "Kiss me."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale

After Britta finishes off her long-winded answer to Abed’s simple question (somehow including a recitation of an old drinking song, a childhood anecdote, and a conversation relayed in broken Spanish whilst objectively not including a real response to the question) it’s Annie’s turn to ask. 

“Jeff-“ 

”Of  _course_  you’d choose him,” Britta groans. 

“Would you rather I chose you?” She injects enough Shirley-esque formidability into her tone that Britta concedes, grumbling. 

 _“As I was saying_. Jeff. Truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” 

Annie nods, satisfied. “Fine. I dare you to-“ 

“PLEASE don’t make it gross.” Britta cuts in, throwing her head back dramatically against the couch pillows.

Annie waves a dismissive hand. “ _Anyway_. Jeff. I dare you to - kiss me.” 

He does so, leaning across the floor despite the various groans and remarks containing thinly-veiled disgust coming from their friends. Murmuring, before he meets her lips, “you could have just asked, you know.” 

“It’s more fun this way.” 

 


	6. "I'm pregnant."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @harryspaceshipmchale

So she took the test crouching in the bathroom stall at work, and maybe it wasn’t the way she always fantasised about finding out. But the two little strips of plastic come back positive anyway, and that can’t be changed - and she figures that, even if the reveal for herself didn’t go the way she expected, she still has some control in telling Jeff.

She prepares the whole speech in her head - the scene; she gets home before him on Wednesdays which would give her enough time to make a card, maybe a letter. After that however, she finds it kinda difficult to imagine. The what-happens-next. 

Safe to say, by the time she gets out of the office she’s thought it over so many times in her head that it’s all starting to freak her out a little. Theres another couple of hours until Jeff is due back, and she figures that’s enough time to take a hot, relaxing shower before she has o really start thinking about telling him…

But then the door to their apartment is unlocked, and her plans just go out the window. 

“You’re home.” 

“I got off early.” 

“Okay…” She shrugs off her coat, drops her bag on the counter. “I have something to tell you, but I was gonna do it when you came back from work but you’re back now. I had a whole thing prepared - but you’re here now, so…” 

“What is it?” 

She goes for the band-aid approach. “I’m pregnant. And I just wanted to sa-“ Her words turn into a squeak when Jeff seals his mouth over hers.


	7. "Looks like we'll be trapped for a while..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @zacscottysnl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a 5x13 au where the jeff, britta, annie, abed, the dean and borchert are stuck in the basement for a significantly longer period of time.

When Abed sidles up to her, casting a not-so-discreet look towards Jeff and Britta, holed up in the far corner of the room, she already knows what he’s going to ask her. (How does she feel about this? Why is she acting so calm? Is she really just going to let him go like that?) 

But it’s a surprise when instead, he tilts his head to the side and states, blank as ever, “The Dean thinks they’ll last a couple days, but I think it’s closer to an hour. What do you think?” 

“Hm?” 

“Jeff and Britta.” 

“No, I know who you’re talking about, I just-“ 

“Oh. I guess I haven’t given you enough context for the question. The Dean and I are making a bet on how long their engagement’ll last. He thinks a couple of days, but I say-“ 

Annie shakes her head. “Abed! No.” 

“No as in, I’m wrong? Or no as in-“ 

“No as in, you shouldn’t bet on how long a _relationship_ will last. It’s rude.” 

He takes a seat in the stool right next to her, and swivels a few times before facing her. “But you know they’re not in any real sort of relationship. You said yourself. Half an hour ago. You called their desires empty. That’s what you were talking about, right?” 

“Yes, Abed.” 

“So you already know that their relationship probably won’t last very long…” 

“Yes.” 

“…But you still don’t want to bet?” 

She starts to say _“no,”_ wants to say _“no”_ \- but then she glances over again, and the image of Britta’s hand in his hair feels like it’s permanently burned into her retinas, and she immediately wishes she hadn’t. 

Abed catches her looking, and there’s a note of sympathy in his eyes. 

“One day.” She murmurs, making sure they can’t hear. 

Abed nods, and leaves to relay the information to the Dean.

She almost feels guilty. 

* * *

As it turns out, Abed’s closest to being right - not that she was counting. 

What starts as a small disagreement on whether an engagement needs rings in order to be official turns into a larger disagreement, until finally Britta shakes her head violently and, like someone just coming out of a trance, throws her hands in the air and asks the room at large, rather dramatically, _what in the hell_ she’d been thinking. 

And it’s strange, ‘cause usually this is the type of situation where she’d catch Jeff’s eye, make some sort of face that he’d return to let her know they were both _together_ in this shared sense of confusion and uncomfortableness. But now he’s a _part_ of the situation, and she doesn’t know how he’s feeling right now, so instead, she sort of stares at a point on the far wall and widens her eyes and immediately looks to the side because _god,_ how pathetic _is_ that - making faces at a wall and imagining it’s him, like some sort of idiot. 

So she watches Abed and the Dean; the latter of which fishes around in his pocket for a moment or so before reluctantly slapping a five dollar bill into Abed’s palm. 

She finds a few dollars in her own pockets, plus some change, and when he comes back to reap his rewards from her, she hands it to him with an apologetic, “Sorry, it’s all I’ve got.” 

“Keep the change.” Abed replies, and it’s not quite the caring response she would have preferred, but it’s something. 

She feels him watching her for another minute though, and soon it gets a bit too much. “What?” 

“Aren’t you happy?” 

“I don’t know how to answer that.”

* * *

At around hour five of their time spent down in the bunker, she relocates to a spot by the wall - enclosed, between one of the huge machines and the adjacent side of the room. It’s quieter, which gives her more time to think about their plans of escape, and space away from the prying eyes of Abed and the Dean. 

Britta had taken the breakup of her engagement as well as expected, and almost immediately took on the task of explaining the modern world to Borchert, starting with the major political events he had missed throughout the years. Annie listened in for a while until she started talking about the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, but for whatever reason she got the two new nations mixed up, and kept calling it the _“Slovakia Republic”,_ and after a while it stopped being funny and started to get annoying. 

Jeff, to his credit, hadn’t said anything about it, even though usually it’d be the sort of thing he wouldn’t shut up about. He hasn’t really said much since the breakup (could it even be called a breakup?) and Annie’s beginning to wonder if perhaps there’s a reason for that. Maybe it really was important to him. Maybe he’s upset that it didn’t work out. 

Maybe he really _did_ want to marry her, and he just. Went about it the wrong way. 

She can definitely relate. 

Then, because the universe’s main goal for the day is apparently just to punish her, she hears a familiar voice. 

“Looks like we’ll be trapped here for a while, huh?” 

She meets Jeff’s eyes and somehow musters the courage to nod. 

“Do you mind if I sit?” 

Instead of answering, she moves to the side, and he folds himself into the small space next to her. Her shoulder pressed up against his arm, and she already regrets saying yes. 

He doesn’t say anything for a long while, and Annie tries to keep her breathing at a steady pace. 

Until, “So.” 

“Hm?” 

“You were right.” At her silence, he continues. “About everything. You knew the whole me-and-Britta thing was bullshit from the beginning.” 

She tilts her head to the side, not wanting to admit. 

“But you let it happen.” He’s talking slowly, like he’s working out the solution to a particularly difficult sum, and she panics a little because there’s only one logical answer. She doesn’t want him to find out the extent of her feelings for him - especially not now, with his pseudo-engagement having disintegrated less than two hours ago and his ex-fiancee, who also happens to be one of Annie’s best friends, just 20 feet away. 

So she swallows thickly, and listens. 

“You let me go through with it even though you knew it would never work out, because… You want me to be happy? Just, out of the kindness of your heart?” 

She meets his eyes with some difficulty but there’s a little frown there, and that’s when he realises - he still doesn’t know. She’d thought she was being totally obvious with the thing, but he has no idea. 

Maybe it’s better that way, but she can’t just let things go unsaid. On the other hand, she doesn’t particularly feel like pouring out her heart when they’re stuck like this. When Abed and the Dean and Britta and Borchert can all hear. 

“Is that what you really think? Or just what you want to?” 

He doesn’t answer, but holds her stare, and it’s almost enough. 

They go back to just sitting, watching their friends across the room and not speaking, but after a few minutes she feels his hand brush against hers and wonders if this is his way of responding to her question. 

* * *

When everyone turns around, he’s still got the stupid headset-thingy on and Racquel is absolutely lit up behind him, but he’s looking right. at. her. and she feels her heart leap into her throat. 

But there’s not a whole lot of time, so she follows the rest of the through the door, looking back just once to catch his eye, and he shoots her a look that’s all promise. 


	8. "Tell me a secret."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @zacscottysnl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspired by celerylapel's fic, "Certainty"!!!

“Je-eff…” 

“Mm?” 

“Tell me a secret.” 

“Tell you a secret?” 

“Yeah.” 

“This really isn’t what I had in mind when I suggested you come here for a _sleepover.”_

Annie rolls her eyes and doesn’t try to hold back her scoff. “Come on.” 

He grumbles a little. “Why.” 

“Because! I was just thinking… You know, we’ve known each other for a larger portion of my life than yours…” 

“Please don’t remind me.” 

Another eye-roll. “And despite the fact that I know you pretty well - at least, I _think_ I do - I don’t know _everything.”_ The mattress creaks as she sits up, kneeling beside him and trying to pry his arm away from where it’s covering his eyes. “I’ll tell you something.” 

“You want to know everything about me?” 

“Well, _yeah._ Don’t you want to know everything about me?” 

He lifts one shoulder. “I guess.” 

She nods, satisfied. “So, I’ll tell you one thing you don’t know about me, and then you can return the favour.” 

He doesn’t answer, just makes another grumbling sound, but this one sounds a lot more conceding than the last. 

“Great!” She tilts her head from side to side, trying to think of something interesting enough to make him want to tell her something just as good. “I… I got detention once.” 

This piques his interest. “Really?” 

“Yup. Fourth grade.” 

“How did Annie straight-As-since-birth Edison manage to get detention in only the fourth grade?” 

“Falling asleep in class. It was a problem. I wasn’t getting a whole lot at home, so I’d just lay my head on the desk, promising myself it would only be a few minutes’ rest, and then before I knew it, I’d be woken up by a teacher staring me down.” She shakes her head, laughing. “It was super embarrassing at the time - but my mom would make me stay up really late to practice the clarinet, ‘cause she wanted me to get into band club, and I was never really good at it…” Her laughter trails off, but she catches herself just in time to shoot Jeff a quick - if tight - smile. 

But he’s frowning, and she probably should’ve chosen a different story. 

“Sounds like it sucked.” 

“I guess it did.” 

“I once got suspended from middle school.” Jeff starts, impulsively. “Some kid in the grade above made fun of my clothes, ‘cause they were always a few sizes too big… I punched him. A teacher saw, and, well.” He shrugs. “My mom was really mad at me at first, but when she found out about _why_ it happened, she didn’t ground me or anything - she made me chicken soup. Like I was sick or something.” 

Annie finds herself fighting a smile, but it’s hard. “Your mom sounds nice.” 

“She is.” 

“So, was that your secret?” 

He considers it a moment. “No. That was - whatever. I have a better secret now.” 

“Shoot.” 

He casts his eyes down for a second before meeting hers, like he’s trying to muster up the courage. But when he does look at her, there’s nothing but hope in his eyes. “I never really bring people round to see my mom, ‘cause I don’t really like getting her hopes up… But I want her to meet you. If that’s okay.” 

She doesn’t suppress her smile, then - she doesn’t need to, because he’s matching her grin completely. 


	9. "Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @zacscottysnl

When Troy gets back from travelling the world, it’s not a surprise to anyone that he ends up in LA. 

He moves in with Abed and at first it starts out as a temporary thing - he says he’ll get his own apartment soon, because even though they’re best friends and always will be, there probably comes a point wherein it’s more appropriate to live separately - but a week turns into a month, and then a month turns into six, and then Troy realises that the list time he googled for local apartment listings was back in May, and it’s October now. So he asks Abed if it’s cool if he moves in with him, and Abed replies that he thought he was living with him already, and Troy can’t really argue. 

Besides, living with Abed is easy. It’s comfortable. He has the TV on pretty much 24/7, doesn’t really go anywhere other than work, and never brings anyone home. 

Until one day, they’re having breakfast (Poptarts) at the dinner table (coffee table in front of the TV) and Abed asks if it’s cool if his mom and half-brothers visit the next day. 

“Sure, man.” Troy nods, and watches as Abed goes back to the food. But it doesn’t really fit right - he hasn’t heard him mention his mom in years, and his half-brothers, Troy knows, are pretty much nonexistent parts of his life. “They’re coming to the city?” 

“They’re already in LA.” Abed explains, his eyes never leaving the TV. “And they asked if I would mind if they came over. I said yes, but I knew I had to ask you, so.” 

“No, yeah. Yeah, it’s cool.” 

“Cool cool cool.” Abed replies, shooting him a singular finger gun. 

Troy returns it, but still can’t help but feel there’s something wrong.

* * *

Abed is strangely calm the rest of the day and the following morning, but when he hears the buzzer alerting him that his family are waiting downstairs to be let into the building, it’s like something in him snaps. 

His eyes widen, but not in the funny way, and he’s not really moving, so Troy approaches him carefully. “You okay?” 

Abed doesn’t say anything, but Troy can hear his quick, nervous breaths. 

“Do you want to let them up? Because you don’t have to. There’s - I mean, we could just make up an excuse.” 

He shakes his head. “I want to see them.” 

“So… Do you want me to let them up?” 

He thinks about this for a minute, until the buzzer goes again, brining him out of his head. “Yeah.” 

Troy nods, moving slowly to press the button, wanting to give him enough time to take his answer back. But he doesn’t, so Troy presses it, and the little beeping sound is confirmation that they’re officially in the building. 

It’s another couple minutes until there’s a knock at the door, and Abed turns to him. Not as terrified-looking as he was before, but still pretty freaked out. “Stay here with us.” 

“Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always.” 

Abed nods three times, firmly, then opens the door.


	10. “You fainted...straight into my arms"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @loosey-goosey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set in s3-ish

When Jeff wakes up, lying on a lumpy hospital bed in the Greendale medical room, it’s not surprise that he feels but rather a sense of inevitability. He can’t remember much of what happened prior to this moment but if the dull ache in his head is any indication, it couldn’t have been pretty. 

He groans, sitting up with some difficulty and hoping that whoever laid him here had the foresight to leave a glass of water, and becomes aware of two things at once. The plastic cup on the table next to him - which, great, at least that’s one of his immediate problems sorted - and the feeling of someone watching him. 

“You’ve been out for the past 20 minutes.” Annie explains, perched on a healthcare chair a couple feet away. There’s a bruise forming on her forehead, and a small cut on her lip. “Sorry.” 

“’s not your fault.” 

She shrugs enigmatically, continuing to watch as he sips from the water. It’s cold, and shocks his throat. “You don’t even know what happened.” 

“Tell me, then.” 

She gives a small, wry smile. “We were leaving class and you didn’t look so good… And we hardly made it to the lockers before you collapsed.”

He shakes his head, but that only intensifies the pain. “Okay, first of all, I _always_ look good.” Annie rolls her eyes playfully at him. “And second, that doesn’t explain why you’re here, looking like - like Britta after a particularly extensive night out.” 

“Well, there was no one else around, and I was worried, so I tried to catch you. But you were too heavy, and I think I accidentally rammed my face into your shoulder, hence-“ she gestures to her own small wounds, “-and in all the chaos, I sort of dropped you. You knocked the back of your head really bad.” 

“Annie,” he laughs, partly exasperation and partly due to the mental image of her trying to hold up his weight, “you tried to _catch_ me? You’re like, half my size, what were you thinking?” 

“Well, I didn’t think it was too serious at first. And also, y’know… You would’ve done the same for me, right?” 

She’s flashing those damn Disney eyes at him but it’s completely unnecessary, because they both already know what his answer is. 

“Of course I would. Because I have the _physical ability to do so.”_

Annie makes this little over-exaggerated frown, and it’s absurdly adorable. “I’m not weak.” 

“I know that, trust me. I never said you were.” He uses the brief lapse in conversation to gulp down more of his water, turned luke-warm now. “Why did it happen, anyway?” 

She shrugs. “I just assumed you were suffering from being-ignored-itis. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done something overly drastic to get people to notice you.” 

Jeff gasps in (not-so)mock outrage. “What makes you think that?” 

“Jeff, you fainted…straight into my arms.” There’s a smirk teasing the corners of her mouth as she continues, “you know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” She valiantly holds out against his incredulous stare for another few seconds or so, before breaking out into giggles. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I think the nurse said it was low blood pressure. That’s the original reason, at least… But I think you _may_ have gotten knocked out when you smacked your head off the ground. Again, sorry about that.” 

“It’s no problem.” 

There’s another couple minutes of silence, during which Jeff finishes the water and settles back into the mattress - hey, it may not be as comfortable as his own bed, but it’s better than nothing. 

“I just had an idea,” Annie pipes up finally, sounding like she’s been working herself up to saying whatever-it-is for quite some time. “After all the chaos of today - I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty hungry. I was thinking of grabbing a meal once we’re done with this…if you want to join me?”   As if to reassure him, she quickly adds, “just, y’know, a friendly thing.”

He pretends to deliberate for a while, but really, it’s not a hard decision to make at all. “Sure. Denny’s?” 

Annie nods, beaming.


	11. “This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompted by @celerylapel

After a weekend-long marathon of _“Impractical Jokers”,_ Troy and Abed somehow got it into their head that the next ‘hijink’ that the group should participate in would be a _prank war._

It started out innocently enough, mostly with lame jokes that everyone already knew the answer to, but were advised by each other not to interrupt with the punchline. But then Britta joined in - by trying to trick Abed into watching _“The Meatrix”_ instead of _“The Matrix,”_ like he asked - and then all hell broke loose. 

Jeff had successfully managed to stay out of it, until Shirley set her sights on embarrassing him. She had contacted his mother over Facebook and somehow gotten ahold of a particularly humiliating photograph, taken on the night of his middle school prom - wearing a wool blazer over shirt and slacks in lieu of a suit - and glued it to a large piece of cardboard. Her little project was waiting in his study room seat for him the next day, and after nearly a week, it feels as though he still hasn’t completely lived it down. 

Since then, he’s been trying to come up with something in return; something that’ll _really_ shock her. He thinks he’s found it, and she really only has herself to blame for this, because technically, it was _her_ who gave him the idea in the first place. 

It’s quick and it’s easy, and there’s only one other person he needs in order to complete the task. 

So he catches her just as she’s entering the parking lot. 

“Annie, wait up.”

She turns, shooting him a confused look, but stays where she is, allowing him the few seconds he needs to catch up. “If you need more help with your homework, I’ll gladly do it tomorrow, but right now, I kind of need to get home.” 

“I know, and I don’t need your help. Or, I do, actually, just not with school.” He gestures in the direction of where he knows she parks every day, and they fall into step. 

“So you need my help with something, but it’s not about school… Should I be worried?” 

“No. At least, I don’t think so.” It’s late, and he doesn’t want to keep her any longer than he has to, so he decides to get right into it. “I’ve been thinking, and I’m pretty sure I’ve found the perfect way to get Shirley back.” 

“Are you seriously still hung up on that photo?” She asks, accompanied with an eye-roll. “You didn’t even look that bad. It was kinda cute, actually.” The last part is added as more of an afterthought, and once she realises what she’s said, Annie focuses on fishing around in her purse for her car key, and Jeff can’t help but wonder if it’s just so she can hide her face. 

Getting back on track, he continues. “ _Regardless_ , I still wanna get her back _somehow_. And, like I said, I think I’ve got the perfect plan - but it requires you to play a significant part.” 

She stops walking abruptly and narrows her eyes. “What kind of part?” 

“Remember yesterday, when Shirley saw us sitting together and made that - face?” He attempts a rough imitation of the expression in question, which makes Annie laugh, but she doesn’t seem to recognise it. 

“I think if she made a face like that, I’d remember.” 

“You get my point.” 

“Barely. But go on.” 

He sighs, dragging his feet for effect as they continue their walk to her car. It’s in sight now, so he knows there isn’t a whole lot of time, and he kind of needs her to get on board with this _tonight._  

“Whatever. She made a disapproving face, okay?” 

Annie nods. 

“And I’ve thought about it a lot… And I figure the best prank I could pull on would be to pretend we’re dating.” 

She makes a sound that’s half-sputter, half-laugh. “Excuse me?” 

“Just think about it - she’d get so worked up. Imagine her face.” 

She rolls her eyes again, but this time, there’s a smile teasing the corners of her mouth. “I guess it could be kinda funny.” 

“Right? _And_ at the same time, you’d also be getting Britta back for that thing she did with your highlighters.” They’re right at her car, now, but instead of opening the door, Annie’s just leaning against it. 

“She highlighted yellow over _wet black ink,_ Jeff! Now whenever I use it, it comes out as this sludgy brown colour.” She wrinkles her nose in clear distaste. 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Raising his eyebrows, “so - are you in?” 

“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.”

“Great! Great,” and it really is, ‘cause when he thinks about it, he wasn’t totally convinced she would agree. “Okay. I’ll text you later, so we can work out a game plan.” 

“Alright,” she lets out a _what-am-I-doing_ sigh, but reciprocates his grin anyway, and says goodbye with a little wave as she gets into her car. 

Right before she drives away, though, she rolls her window down. Her expression is somehow open and shy and even a little scared, and he guesses it was probably her intention to wait until she was in her car, safe barrier up between them, before she said it. “One rule, though.” There’s hesitation in her voice and she waits a few seconds before saying the next part, working herself up to looking straight into his eyes. “No kissing.” 

The question takes him aback a bit - and makes him feel more than a little guilty, but he doesn’t want to dwell on that - but he manages to nod, say, “Of course.” 

This earns him a tight-lipped smile, and before he knows it, she’s gone. 

* * *

They start the process of dropping hints the following morning. Study group’s not until after lunch, and they decided the previous night that that was the best time to tell Shirley - with the advantage of everyone else being there, so that when they do eventually admit it was all a joke, they won’t have to track down everyone in the group to make sure they know. 

But even though they’re not officially telling anyone until then, it doesn’t mean they can’t have some fun with it, first. 

So they sit together in Anthropology, Jeff’s first class of the day - which isn’t so strange, granted, but they make the special effort of sitting just _slightly_ closer than they usually would, and he can feel Shirley’s eyes on them the entire time. 

Annie, as it turns out, is surprisingly good at the whole fake-dating thing; much better than he thought she’d be. He thinks he’s imagining it, at first; the way her touches, over the course of the morning, are just a little more frequent, a little more lingering - but it soon becomes entirely clear: she’s enjoying this as much as he is. 

By the time they’re approaching study room F, lagging behind the rest of the group so they can enter hand-in-hand, they’ve received enough narrow-eyed stares and pointed looks that he’s more than a little excited for the big reveal. 

They wait for everyone else to get to their seats first, then walk in, swinging their hands between them. Sitting as usual. 

“Um,” Troy starts, pointing at the space between Jeff and Annie. “What was that?” 

“Yeah,” Britta agrees. “They’ve been acting weird all day.” 

Jeff just shrugs, wanting to see how long this’ll go on for, but out of the corner of his eye he spots Annie, staring with pleading eyes, and he knows they’re doing this _now._

“Actually, Annie and I have an announcement,” he stands up, hoping for the effect of someone beginning a toast at a wedding. “We-“ 

“You’re dating.” Abed interrupts. “We know.” 

“You _know?”_ Annie asks, incredulous. 

Abed nods, like it’s that simple. “We’ve known for weeks.” 

“ _Weeks?”_ Her voice raises by perhaps an octave, which would’ve been impressive if Jeff wasn’t concerned she was going to blow their cover. 

“Yeah, that’s right.” Jeff says, figuring he might as well go along with it. “It’s been - what, two weeks? Right, Annie?” 

“Huh? I mean - yeah. Two weeks, that’s absolutely correct.” 

“We just wanted to wait before telling you all,” Jeff continues, “‘cause we weren’t sure how you’d react.” He makes a point of looking round everyone at the table, and their reactions are admittedly a little disappointing. Britta and Troy seem disgusted and interested, respectively, Pierce clearly doesn’t have a clue what’s going on, and Abed seems kind of bored - but none of them look shocked. 

Until he reaches Shirley. She’s sitting all stoic and silent and he can’t resist rubbing it in her face a little.

“We’re really happy together, things are going great.” He maintains eye contact with her the entire time. “And it was actually thanks to you, Shirley, that we started this in the first place - remember the dinner you hosted last month?” 

Annie nods. “It was after that when Jeff confessed his feelings for me for the first time,” she shoots him an over-the-top sappy smile, which he returns. 

She’s still being infuriatingly quiet, though, so he takes an alternative route - asking her outright. “We haven’t heard anything from you yet, and since you’re so important to the forming of our - our relationship, we really value your opinions. So… What do you think about all of this?”

Shirley takes a deep breath, clasps her hands together on the table. For the first time since the creation of their prank, Jeff actually feels a small stab of fear. 

“It’s safe to say,” she finally begins, speaking slowly and deliberately. “That I am very disappointed that neither of you told me before today.” 

It’s not the response he was expecting. 

“And,” she continues, on a roll, “though I know I haven’t reacted well to the nature of your relationship before, it is clear to me that nothing I say could keep you apart. And you both seem happier, lately, come to think of it - and I can only assume it’s due to _this,_ so - what I’m trying to say is, I’m happy for you both.” 

He glances at Annie, who’s sitting in open-mouthed surprise that he knows without looking must be reflected in his own features. 

“Shirley, that’s kind of you, but-“ 

“It’s a joke!” He interrupts whatever undoubtedly sweet thing Annie was going to say. “It’s - for the whole stupid prank wars thing, we thought it’d be funny, ‘cause you’d all be shocked - but. Why are you acting like this?” He gasps despite himself, affronted. “Did you know this whole time? Did everyone already know it was fake?” 

“You faked a relationship for _two weeks?”_ Britta asks.

“Yeah, that doesn’t add up.” Troy agrees. “Abed and I only started this _last_ week.”

“No,” Annie cuts in, sounded equal parts exasperated and embarrassed. “It’s - we only started faking it _today._ Because of that photo Shirley found of Jeff, remember?” 

“I don’t _want_ them to remember, that was the whole-“

Annie dismisses him with a  wave of her hand. “So he asked me about it last night - asked if I’d mind pretending we were together for the day, to get back at her. It’s - it’s all just a joke.”

“Not a very good one. It’s way too plausible. If you really wanted to go for the shock factor, you should’ve said something outrageous, but still in the slight realm of possibility,” he explains. “Like pretending you were moving in together, or married, or pregnant-“ 

“That’s enough.” Jeff interrupts him, feeling light-headed at his words.

“I’m confused.” Pierce pipes up. “I thought they’d only been knocking boots for two weeks, are they getting hitched already?” 

“No,” Shirley answers. “This was all just a big joke.” 

“We thought you would all be surprised.” Annie laments, slumping down in her seat. “Why aren’t any of you surprised?”

“I thought you’d have gotten together by now, anyway.” Abed supplies, helpfully. 

Troy nods, agreeing with him. 

Jeff and Annie share a sort of _what-just-happened_ look. 

“You know,” Shirley says, graciously opening her Anthropology textbook as if she’s willing to put an end to things, “I really was happy for you both.” 

He hears Annie whisper her thanks to her, nearly drowned out by the sound of textbooks, notepads, and writing utensils being placed on the table. 

And just like that, it’s over.

* * *

“Well, that failed.” He says, catching her just as she’s leaving. 

“Yeah, I guess.” Annie replies, attempting a half-hearted laugh as she adjusts the straps of her backpack. 

They walk together all the way to her next class - not intentionally, but Jeff has to go that way anyway, and he doesn’t really see the point in walking ahead or, worse, ignoring her - and right before she opens the door to her classroom ( _Geology 101)_ she presses up on her toes to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

“You just violated your own rule.” 

“We’re not pretending anymore,” she retorts. “And beside, I was kind of hoping I’d get a chance to violate it at some point, and I didn’t, hence…” She tilts her head to the side, letting him finish her train of thought in his own mind. 

By the time he’s worked it out, she’s already slipping into the classroom - and it’s kind of funny, ‘cause this thing was supposed to be about him pranking Shirley back, but maybe this whole time, the joke was really on him.


	12. "Please, don't leave."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> set post s6, prompted by anon

“What time is it?” 

Annie shrugs, so Jeff has to lean forward to grab his phone from the coffee table, nearly pitching her off his lap in the process. She squeaks and clutches at his shoulders, which makes him laugh, which makes his phone clatter out of his hands and onto the floor, which would have concerned him just a few months ago but right now, with Annie with him, he couldn’t care less. 

And that’s probably kinda sappy. 

But apparently ‘sappy’ is just something Jeff Winger _does,_ now - as exemplified by the fact that he’s _here,_ folded into an armchair with Annie that is clearly meant for just _one_ person, watching Stardust for the third time. 

“It’s getting late,” he says, and she nods, hums in acknowledgement. “So I should probably get going, right?” 

“Nooooo.” She protests immediately, taking her eyes off the screen for a moment. “Stay.” 

“It’s nearly midnight.” 

“So?” 

“What if Britta comes home only to see us - canoodling on the couch?” 

“ _Canoodling_? Really, Jeff?” 

He shrugs. 

“Please, don’t leave.” She’s not giving him the eyes, presumably because at this point she’s realised that she doesn’t need them to get him to do what she wants. But she is pouting a little and it’s maybe kinda adorable, so he kisses her frowning mouth.

“Y’know…” Annie begins, lifting a coy shoulder. “You could always stay over.”

He raises his eyebrows, cautiously interested. “We’ve only been together for a week.”  

“I know, but - we’ve waited _all summer_ to be together, and now we finally are, and I just. I don’t see what the big deal is! I mean, unless you don’t want to-“ 

“Well - I _want_ to. I just wasn’t sure if that’s what _you_ wanted.”

“ _Jeff_.” He’s sort of starting to love the way she says his name - the mix of fondness and exasperation. “Stay?’’ 

 He pretends to deliberate, but it’s really not hard to answer. “Of course.”

And then she beams at him, like he’s saved a bunch of puppies from a burning building or something and leans in to kiss him again, and he kind of loves that too.

**Author's Note:**

> send prompts to my tumblr (@rather-be-free) if you want!!


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